[16], At the time of the disaster most English football stadiums had high steel fencing between the spectators and the playing field in response to pitch invasions. This included the Wolverhampton-based Express & Star, which reported that the match had been cancelled as a result of a "pitch invasion in which many fans were injured". [302], In October 2011, Sir Oliver Popplewell, who had chaired the public inquiry into the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire at Valley Parade that killed 56 people, called on the families of the Hillsborough victims to look at the "quiet dignity and great courage relatives in the West Yorkshire city had shown in the years following the tragedy". As the Panel explained in their report:[46]:146. [298], On 28 June 2010, following England's departure from the 2010 FIFA World Cup competition in South Africa, the UK's Culture and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised the England fans for their behaviour during the competition, saying "I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us." [272], The coverage was widely condemned on social media, with Twitter users saying that this reflected "Murdoch's view on Hillsborough", which was a "smear", which "now daren't speak its name". The system of ferrying injured from any location within the stadium to the CRP required a formal declaration to be made by those in charge for it to take effect. [278] Everton F.C. The Spectator's comments were widely circulated following the April 2016 verdict by the Hillsborough inquest's second hearing proving unlawful killing of the 96 dead at Hillsborough. As a result of the stadium layout and segregation policy, turnstiles that would normally have been used to enter the North Stand from the east were off-limits and all Liverpool supporters had to converge on a single entrance at Leppings Lane. [131] MacKenzie said he should have written a headline that read "The Lies", although this apology was rejected by the Hillsborough Family Support Group and Liverpool fans, as it was seen to be "shifting the blame once again. [88] The views of both were dismissed by the Taylor report. We have been in contact with the Hillsborough Family Support Group and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign to express our deep regret and sincere apologies. There were cases of alcoholism, drug abuse, and collapsed marriages involving people who had witnessed the events. [313] In another letter written to a Liverpool supporter, also written in 1996, Ingham remarked that people should "shut up about Hillsborough". Look down there. Blaming Liverpool fans persisted even after the Taylor Report of 1990, which found that the main cause was a failure of crowd control by SYP. [52] Within days, donations had passed 1million,[54] swelled by donations from individuals, schools and businesses. The Football Spectators Act does not cover Scotland, but the Scottish Premier League chose to make all-seater stadiums a requirement of league membership. Other members were:[121]. He was suspended from the club for a fortnight and many fans felt he should not play for the club again. In addition to the "unlawful killing" verdict, the jury concluded that "errors or omissions" by police commanding officers, Sheffield Wednesday, the ambulance service and the design and certification of the stadium had all "caused or contributed" to the deaths, but that the behaviour of football supporters had not. His remarks led to Liverpool F.C. [199] It was announced on 25June that Duckenfield would face a retrial, which was scheduled to start on 7October at Preston Crown Court. [246] These media reports and others were examined during the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report. An annual memorial ceremony is held at Anfield and at a church in Liverpool. April 15th 1989, Liverpool faced Nottingham Forest away in the semi-final of the FA cup, as kick-off approached a large crowd built up outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles. Announcing the report to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Jack Straw backed Stuart-Smith's findings and said that "I do not believe that a further inquiry could or would uncover significant new evidence or provide any relief for the distress of those who have been bereaved. [64], In May 1989, a charity version of the Gerry and the Pacemakers song "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in aid of those affected. [56], The FA chief executive Graham Kelly, who had attended the match, said the FA would conduct an inquiry into what had happened. "[289] The British edition disassociated itself from the controversy, stating: "FHM Australia has its own editorial team and these captions were written and published without consultation with the UK edition, or any other edition of FHM. [160][161], During the inquests, Maxwell Groomea police constable at the time of the disastermade allegations of a high-level "conspiracy" by Freemasons to shift blame for the disaster onto Superintendent Roger Marshall, also that junior officers were pressured into changing their statements after the disaster, and told not to write their accounts in their official police pocketbooks. He concluded that this formed an exacerbating factor but that police, seeking to rationalise their loss of control, overestimated the element of drunkenness in the crowd. [252], The story accompanying The Sun headlines claimed "drunken Liverpool fans viciously attacked rescue workers as they tried to revive victims" and "police officers, firemen and ambulance crew were punched, kicked and urinated upon". During a 2011 debate in the House of Commons, the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, Steve Rotheram, read out a list of the victims and, as a result, the names were recorded in the Hansard transcripts. [41], When the gates were opened, thousands of fans entered a narrow tunnel leading from the rear of the terrace into two overcrowded central pens (pens 3 and 4), creating pressure at the front. An apology appeared on page 10, reiterating previous statements that the 1989 headline had been an error of judgement. I published in good faith and I am sorry that it was so wrong. No, his apology doesn't mean a thing to me. [293], In November 2007, the BBC soap opera EastEnders caused controversy when the character Minty Peterson (played by Cliff Parisi) made a reference to the disaster. Former Chief Superintendent Duckenfield, in charge of the match, faced 95 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence. [94], Lord Taylor concluded that the behaviour of Liverpool fans, including accusations of drunkenness, were secondary factors, and said that most fans were: "not drunk, nor even the worse for drink". [29] Leeds were assigned the Leppings Lane end. At a meeting in Liverpool with relatives of those involved in Hillsborough in October 1997, he flippantly remarked "Have you got a few of your people or are they like the Liverpool fans, turn up at the last minute? The 10th and 20th anniversaries were marked by special services to remember the victims.[214][215]. An FA spokesperson said: "We supported Aleksander Ceferin's re-election as president of Uefa based on his track record in the role over a number of years, which included dealing with the . [108] In England and Wales all-seating is a requirement of the Premier League[109] and of the Football League for clubs who have been present in the Championship for more than three seasons. Sheffield Wednesday was also criticised for the inadequate number of turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end and the poor quality of the crush barriers on the terraces, "respects in which failure by the Club contributed to this disaster". [124] Their report was in 395 pages and delivered 153 key findings. There was insufficient evidence against the police officer to charge him with the offence. "[112] Therefore, evidence such as witness statements which had been altered were classed as inadmissible. After the disaster's 20th anniversary in April 2009, supported by the Culture secretary, Andy Burnham, and Minister of State for Justice, Maria Eagle, the government asked the Home Office and Department of Culture, Media and Sport to investigate the best way for this information to be made public. Fans outside could hear cheering as the teams came on the pitch ten minutes before the match started, and as the match kicked off, but could not gain entrance. With the imminent release of police documents relating to events on 15 April 1989, the Hillsborough Family Support Group launched Project 96, a fundraising initiative on 1 August 2009. The panel was chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool. The editor at the time, Dominic Mohan, wrote: "We published an inaccurate and offensive story about the events at Hillsborough. A seven-foot-high circular bronze memorial was unveiled in the Old Haymarket district of Liverpool in April 2013. Hillsborough first aired in the US on 15April 2014, the 25th anniversary of the disaster. (Everyone in the office) seemed paralysed"looking like rabbits in the headlights"as one hack described them. [4][8] Reporting in 2012, it confirmed Taylor's 1990 criticisms and revealed details about the extent of police efforts to shift blame onto fans, the role of other emergency services and the error of the first coroner's inquests. Wednesday 6 April 2016, 4:11pm. [156][157] Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh called for David Cameron to make a formal apology in the House of Commons to the families of those killed at Hillsborough and to the city of Liverpool as a whole. The disaster took place on April 15, 1989 - so today marks 33 years since the incident. A boycott of advertisers by American Liverpool fans eventually brought about an apology from him. [144] In the same 22 October House of Commons debate, Stephen Mosley MP alleged West Midlands police pressured witnessesboth police and civiliansto change their statements. [36] Many supporters wished to enjoy the day and were in no hurry to enter the stadium too early. People presenting tickets at the wrong turnstiles and those who had been refused entry could not leave because of the crowd behind them and remained as an obstruction. Their claims were dismissed and the Alcock decision was upheld. A terrible crowd crush claimed the lives of 96 innocen. [119] In April 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced she had requested secret files concerning the disaster be made public.[120]. This prompted 380 complaints and the BBC apologised, saying that the character was simply reminding another character, former football hooligan Jase Dyer, that the actions of hooligans led to the fencing-in of football fans. One supporter wrote to the Football Association and Minister for Sport: "The whole area was packed solid to the point where it was impossible to move and where I, and others around me, felt considerable concern for personal safety. The 96 people who died at the Hillsborough football stadium disaster in 1989 were unlawfully killed and a catalogue of failings by police and the ambulance services contributed to their deaths,. [33], Opposing supporters were segregated, as is common at domestic matches in England. Solicitor Peter Metcalf, former Chief Superintendent Donald Denton, and former Detective Chief Inspector Alan Foster were all charged with perverting the course of justice,[189][190] for having altered 68 police officers' statements in order to "mask the failings" of the police force. Duckenfield admitted that he had lied in certain statements regarding the causes of the disaster. The majority of victims who died were from Liverpool (37) and Greater Merseyside (20). Representatives of the 96 victims of the disaster stated that they would be asking for an independent review of the decision under the Right to Review Scheme. [7] Families disputed the findings,[4] and fought to have the case re-opened. [65] Despite having stronger ties to Liverpool F.C., Gerry and the Pacemakers' earlier hit "You'll Never Walk Alone" was not used because it had recently been re-recorded for the Bradford City stadium fire appeal. [282][pageneeded] A number of complaints were made to the Press Council concerning the article, but the Council ruled that it was unable to adjudicate on comment pieces, though the Council noted that tragedy or disaster is not an occasion for writers to exercise gratuitous provocation. [31] Mole had supervised numerous police deployments at the stadium in the past. Copy link. [320], In 1994 Roger Cook led an investigation into the Hillsborough disaster in a series 9 edition of The Cook Report entitled "Kevin's Mum". From 2007, an annual Hillsborough Memorial service was held at Spion Kop, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. "[131], After publication, the Hillsborough Families Support Group called for new inquests for the victims. The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. [290], The Spectator was criticised for an editorial which appeared in the magazine on 16 October 2004 following the death of British hostage Kenneth John "Ken" Bigley in Iraq, in which it was claimed that the response to Bigley's killing was fuelled by the fact he was from Liverpool, and went on to criticise the "drunken" fans at Hillsborough and call on them to accept responsibility for their "role" in the disaster:[292]. The report stated that placing fans who were "merely unconscious" on their backs rather than in the recovery position, would have resulted in their deaths due to airway obstruction. A third legal case which resulted from the Hillsborough disaster was Airedale N.H.S. [297], Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje was accused of having shown disrespect towards the Hillsborough victims during the 2009 remembrance ceremony, as he was spotted on camera "smiling and nudging" teammate Damien Plessis. . [91], After the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the events. [179], On 12 July 2013, it was reported that the IPCC had found that in addition to the now 164 police statements known to have been altered, a further 55 police officers had changed their statements. It has taken more than two decades, 400,000 documents and a two-year inquiry to discover to my horror that it would have been far more accurate had I written the headline The Lies rather than The Truth. [115] Falconer added: "It made the families in the Hillsborough disaster feel after one establishment cover-up, here was another. These were formally given to the inquests at 11:00 on 26 April 2016. [284][286] Gary Lineker described the incident as "disgusting as it is unsurprising",[287] and David Walsh, chief sports writer at the Sunday Times, said it was a "shocking misjudgment" to not include this story on the front page. They just don't want their names in any more sleaze. The disaster was a fatal human crush at the match held at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama in 1997. The police became a convenient scapegoat, and the Sun newspaper a whipping-boy for daring, albeit in a tasteless fashion, to hint at the wider causes of the incident. In 1999, Anfield was packed with a crowd of around 10,000 people ten years after the disaster. The jury found they did not contribute to the danger unfolding at the turnstiles at the Leppings. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. [12], The second coroner's inquests were held from 1 April 2014 to 26 April 2016. [233] Halfway through the minute's silence, the A.C. Milan fans sang Liverpool's "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a sign of respect. "[255], In their history of The Sun, Peter Chippendale and Chris Horrie wrote:[256]. Club Secretary Graham Mackrell faced a charge of breaching the Safety at Sports Ground Act 1975. Hundreds of people were pressed against one another and the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. He dismissed the claim by senior police officers that they had no reason to anticipate problems, since congestion had occurred at both the 1987 and 1988 semi-finals. [149][150] Upon receiving the April 2016 verdict, Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James was killed in the disaster, said:[151][152][153]. On 8September 2012, just four days before the Hillsborough Independent Panel Report was published, Crompton had emailed the force's assistant chief constable Andy Holt and head of media Mark Thompson. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ", "Hillsborough: Freemason cops banned from working on criminal probe into cover-up", "Freemasons barred from investigation into alleged Hillsborough 'cover-up', "Hillsborough disaster: Why have freemasons been banned from the 1989 tragedy 'cover up' probe? [271], Following the April 2016 verdict of unlawful killing, The Sun and the first print edition of the Times (both owned by News International), did not cover the stories on their front pages, with The Sun relegating the story to pages 8 and 9. I bent down to kiss and talk to [my son] and as we stood up there was a policeman who came from behind me . [238][239], In December 2021, Liverpool City Council nominated Andrew Devine posthumously for the freedom of the city of Liverpool, a tribute given to the original 96 victims in 2016. In April 2016, a private prosecution was launched on behalf of victims' relatives against both SYP and the West Midlands Police force (who had investigated the actions of SYP), alleging a concerted cover-up designed to shift blame away from the police. The crowd numbered more than 60,000, including around 6,000 Liverpool fans, and all the match proceeds went to the Hillsborough appeal fund. The jury in the Hillsborough inquest were given a detailed questionnaire to answer about the April 1989 disaster. [51], Condolences flooded in from across the world, led by the Queen. It affirmed the position of the courts once again towards claims of psychiatric injuries of secondary victims. Over 4,000 were still outside, crammed tightly around the turnstiles and in the holding area. A combination of economic misfortuneits docks were, fundamentally, on the wrong side of England when Britain entered what is now the European Unionand an excessive predilection for welfarism have created a peculiar, and deeply unattractive, psyche among many Liverpudlians. [187] The inquiry was first headed by former Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart, and later by Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley. Although the editor Boris Johnson did not write this piece,[293] journalist Simon Heffer said he had written the first draft of the article at Johnson's request. The intensity of the crush broke more crush barriers on the terraces. The prosecution argued that the crush was "foreseeable" hence the defendants were "grossly negligent". [201][202], On 26 May 2021, Denton, Foster and Metcalfe were all found not guilty of perverting the course of justice by altering 68 police officers' statements, when Mr Justice William Davis found that they had no case to answer. This game was Liverpool's first appearance on the football field since the disaster two weeks earlier. In July 1992, the government announced a relaxation of the regulation for the lower two English leagues (known now as League One and League Two). Hillsborough hosted five FA Cup semi-finals in the 1980s. [89] Phillips stated that the exclusion of their evidence was a 'serious error of judgement' by Popper. The death of two witnesses and contradictions in the evidence of others were cited as part of the reason for the decision. [32], Meanwhile, Hillsborough was accepted as the FA Cup semi-final venue on 20 March 1989 by the Football Association. There are soapy politicians to make a pet of Liverpool, and Liverpool itself is always standing by to make a pet of itself. But it didn't cause the disaster any more than the sunny day that encouraged people to linger outside the stadium as kick off approached. After the crush in 1981, Hillsborough was not chosen to host an FA Cup semi-final for six years until 1987. It was performed by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. [93] The two publications together became known as the Taylor Report.[6]. It added:. [232] Supporters of Everton, Liverpool's traditional local rivals, were affected, many of them having lost friends and family. [192] On 29June 2018, a ruling was made that Duckenfield would be prosecuted on the manslaughter charges. [39][40], With an estimated 5,000 fans trying to enter through the turnstiles, and increasing safety concerns, the police, to avoid fatalities outside the ground, opened a large exit gate (Gate C) that ordinarily permitted the free flow of supporters departing the stadium. The extreme reaction to Mr Bigley's murder is fed by the fact that he was a Liverpudlian. A police constable radioed control requesting that the game be delayed, as it had been two years before, to ensure the safe passage of supporters into the ground. [58], At the 1989 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and local rivals Everton, held just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster, the players from both participating teams wore black armbands as a gesture of respect to the victims. [154], Prime Minister David Cameron also responded to the April 2016 verdict by saying that it represented a "long overdue" but "landmark moment in the quest for justice", adding "All families and survivors now have official confirmation of what they always knew was the case, that the Liverpool fans were utterly blameless in the disaster that unfolded at Hillsborough. It was held that claimants who watched the disaster on television/listened on radio were not 'proximal' and their claims were rejected. The findings concluded that 164 witness statements had been altered. FA Cup semi-final Liverpool v Nottingham Forest. [170] In early October, Bettison announced his retirement, becoming the first senior figure to step down since publication of the panel's report.[171][172][173]. I have never, since hearing the Taylor evidence unfold, offered any other interpretation in public or private. The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool F.C. It was also reported that the jury would be directed to find Mackrell not guilty on the charge of contravening the stadium's safety certificate due to a lack of evidence. Nor do I consider that there is any justification for setting up any further inquiry into the performance of the emergency and hospital services. "[114] However, the determination by Stuart-Smith was heavily criticised by the Justice Minister, Lord Falconer, who stated "I am absolutely sure that Sir Murray Stuart-Smith came completely to the wrong conclusion". 's captain. [118], In the years after the disaster, the Hillsborough Family Support Group had campaigned for the release of all relevant documents into the public domain. followed in April 2017 on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the disaster after a column by Kelvin MacKenzie concerning Everton footballer Ross Barkley. [43] Football players from both teams were ushered to their respective dressing rooms, and told that there would be a 30-minute postponement. A provisional trial date was set for 14January 2019,[196] on which date the trial started at Preston Crown Court before Mr Justice Openshaw. Hon. Peter McKay in the Evening Standard wrote that the "catastrophe was caused first and foremost by violent enthusiasm for soccer and in this case the tribal passions of Liverpool supporters [who] literally killed themselves and others to be at the game"[242][243] and published a front-page headline "Police attack 'vile' fans" on 18 April 1989, in which police sources blamed the behaviour of a section of Liverpool fans for the disaster. [299], Fans of rival clubs[300] have been known to chant about the Hillsborough disaster at football matches, in order to upset Liverpool fans. [128], The evidence it released online included altered police reports. [273][274][275][276][277], However, on Sky News, The Sun's Political Editor Tom Newton Dunn defended this decision, saying: "I don't think it should all be about The Sunit was not us who committed Hillsborough. [15], Hillsborough Stadium had been constructed in 1899 to house Sheffield Wednesday. Hillsborough: anatomy of a disaster Guardian The evidence built into a startling indictment of South Yorkshire police, their chain of command and conduct - a relentlessly detailed evisceration. The entrance had a limited number of turnstiles, of which just seven . The police were worried about fatal crushing. THE HILLSBOROUGH STADIUM DISASTER 15 APRIL 1989 INQUIRY BY THE RT HON LORD JUSTICE TAYLOR INTERIM REPORT Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty August 1989 LONDON HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE CONTENTS This work is licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v1.0 . As the prime minister has made clear, these allegations were wholly untrue and were part of a concerted plot by police officers to discredit the supporters thereby shifting the blame for the tragedy from themselves. This memorial is inscribed with the words: "Hillsborough Disaster we will remember them", and displays the names of the 96 victims who died. [37] At 2:46pm, the BBC's football commentator John Motson had already noticed the uneven distribution of people in the Leppings Lane pens. [294] Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to Liverpool to do so,[295] and again following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012; Johnson's apology was rejected by Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, whose son James, 18, died in the disaster:[296]. To which the plain answer is that a good and sufficient minority of you behave like animals. It obviously wasn't a silly mistake; nor was it a simple oversight. "[303], Popplewell was criticised for the comments, including a rebuke from a survivor of the Bradford fire. The 350 passengers arrived at the ground at about 2:20pm.